A general formulation of multiconfigurational self-consistent-field theory is given. The fundamental condition to be satisfied by the
M occupied orbitals ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ of an $N(\ensuremath{\le}M)$-body system, in order that the total energy of one state be extremalized, is expressed in terms of the fundamental invariant $\mathbf{\ensuremath{\varrho}}=\ensuremath{\Sigma}{\ensuremath{\mu}=1}^{M}|{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}〉〈{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}|$. The condition placed on $\mathbf{\ensuremath{\varrho}}$ is of the same form as the condition on the fundamental invariant of the Hartree-Fock theory. Setting
M=N, we derive the unrestricted Hartree-Fock equations from the condition on $\mathbf{\ensuremath{\varrho}}$. For
M>N there are three freedoms one may take with the fundamental condition on $\mathbf{\ensuremath{\varrho}}$. Exploiting any or all of these freedoms yields alternative forms of the fundamental condition. This enables us to derive an effective one-body Hamiltonian which is the sum of a Hartree-type Hamiltonian and a correlation and exchange operator. For finite
M>N, the one-body Hamiltonian contains a nonlocal exchange and correlation operator. This operator is defined in terms of the one- and two-body density matrices. The connection between the orbitals of this theory and those of the Hartree-Fock theory is explored. The theory as outlined here is applicable to any system of
N identical particles, but our discussion is oriented towards electronic systems. The theory contains most self-consistent-field theories as special cases, and gives a basis for the self-consistent-field formulation of others.
The self-consistent field method utilized for solving the Hartree-Fock (HF) problem and the closely related Kohn-Sham problem is typically thought of as one of the cheapest methods available to quantum chemists. This intuition has been developed from the numerous applications of the self-consistent field method to a large variety of molecular systems. However, as characterized by its worst-case behavior, the HF problem is NP-complete. In this work, we map out boundaries of the NP-completeness by investigating restricted instances of HF. We have constructed two new NP-complete variants of the problem. The first is a set of Hamiltonians whose translationally invariant Hartree-Fock solutions are trivial, but whose broken symmetry solutions are NP-complete. Second, we demonstrate how to embed instances of spin glasses into translationally invariant Hartree-Fock instances and provide a numerical example. These findings are the first steps towards understanding in which cases the self-consistent field method is computationally feasible and when it is not.
The independent-particle model in the theory of many-particle systems is studied by means of the self-consistent-field (SCF) idea. After a review of the characteristic features of the Hartree and Hartree-Fock schemes, the extension of the SCF method developed by Brueckner is further refined by introducing the exact reaction operator containing all correlation effects. This operator is here simply defined by means of the partitioning technique, and, if the SCF potentials are derived from this operator, one obtains a formalism which is completely analogous to the Hartree scheme but which still renders the exact energy and the exact wave function. An elementary derivation of the linked-cluster theorem is given, and finally the inclusion of various symmetry properties is discussed.